Kravitz: What did I do duting the Olympics? Check in

Feb. 19, 2014

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SOCHI, Russia – There is only one thing I won’t miss about the Olympics once I return stateside:

Checking in.

See, as a member of the Gannett and USA Today team – and I’m not sucking up when I say I’m proud to have joined them these Olympics – we have to check in with an editor five to six times a day.

The reason, I’m quite sure, is security. We came into these Games scared to death about security issues, so editors wanted to know we were alive and healthy at virtually all hours of the day and night.

I could have saved them the time: I was either sleeping, hanging out at hockey or bringing down the house at the wine bar with my rendition of “Back In the USSR.’’ (OK, I didn’t bring down the house, but I didn’t get booed. And honestly, some of these people should not be allowed within a square kilometer of a microphone).

When it comes to security, so far, so good, and we all expect (hope) that it will stay the same the last mile of these Olympics. The security has been very thorough but understated, a far cry from the military presence we saw in places like Salt Lake City and Athens. Sochi has done a great job all around – except for the early hotel problems.

Anyway, when I get home, I’m going to start checking in with my wife five times a day.

Just out of habit.

She’ll be sick of it within three days.

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Call him at (317) 444-6643 or email bob.kravitz@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BKravitz.